This Weekend: See '12 Years a Slave' and 'All Is Lost'; Plus, 'Carrie' and Cumberbatch as Assange Hit Theaters

Oscar season is hitting theaters in waves this year. The must-see title of the weekend is Steve McQueen’s highly praised Best Picture frontrunner “12 Years a Slave,” starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as real-life historical figure Solomon Northup, a free black man kidnapped into slavery before the Civil War, and put under the cruel hand of slave master Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender).

Close on that film’s critical heels is J.C. Chandor’s “All Is Lost,” with 77-year-old Robert Redford giving an impressive solo performance as a nameless man battling the elements on open water when his boat suffers an unexpected accident. Redford is considered a frontrunner for a Best Actor nom in this year’s awards race.

Julian Assange biopic “The Fifth Estate,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the platinum blond WikiLeaks founder and Daniel Bruhl as his one-time compatriot, went out with more of a wimper than a bang upon its premiere at Toronto, narrowing its Oscar chances. Its Tomatometer score of 40% Rotten, plus comparisons to Alex Gibney’s excellent WikiLeaks doc “We Steal Secrets,” isn’t helping the film’s chances of making a splash.

Mum’s been the word (har, har) on Kimberly Peirce’s “Carrie” remake all week long, with reviews breaking October 17, so far middling. Granted, there are iconic shoes to fill for this adaptation of Stephen King’s tale of telekinetic teenage horrors, starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore. (Sissy Spacek was of course the original wide-eyed Carrie for Brian De Palma, with Piper Laurie as her creepy, Jesus-obsessed wacko mother.)